German wireless operator E-Plus has developed and applied for a patent for a new system to expand its UMTS network called Ultra High Sites, which the carrier said would reduce its third-generation buildout costs.
The innovation will save E-Plus about $72.3 million in capital expenditure between now and year-end 2005, parent company KPN Telecom said. One UHS typically replaces eight conventional UMTS sites, allowing the carrier to build 200 UHS stations in Germany this year instead of around 1,500 conventional base stations.
“Using UHS will enable us to expand the UMTS network faster and more flexibly than our competitors,” said Uwe Bergheim, chairman of the E-Plus board of management. “We will be able to offer our customers the UMTS coverage they need. An extra advantage is the cost reduction compared with the conventional concept. UHS will therefore have a positive effect on the growth of our company.”
Ultra High Sites are sites taller than 100 meters-like transmitter masts and industrial chimneys-from where multiple narrow antennas provide a large area with high-quality UMTS signals. The antennas cover the area like a canopy to offer customers top-quality UMTS coverage from one site.
A UHS has a transmitting range of between two and four kilometers in built-up areas and between four and six kilometers in outlying areas. For a city with a population of 100,000, one site rented by E-Plus on a tall chimney will be sufficient to give the entire city UMTS coverage. By way of comparison, the conventional technology would require 14 UMTS base stations to provide the same coverage.
E-Plus said it will start up its first UHS sites Oct. 1. Locations will include landmark towers like the Rheinturm in Dusseldorf, Olympiaturm in Munich and Colonius in Cologne.
